I think that AC is doing a great job and make extremely high quality products, and Mikey Bustos makes great videos, but I have to say AC's weakest point is their price. I understand that each nest has work to be done by hand, but I think that your products are high quality enough that instead of working on making new products, AC should alter their manufacturing process so that they can drop the price point for their existing products. I think I speak for most people with a small budget, I personally have 9 colonies, and It is simply impractical to purchase AC products for any or all of them, given that there is competitors like AntKit, AntsAustralia, ETC that make things that I can afford. I and many others simply do not have 190 dollars to drop on an all you need, or 150 for an Omni version. I think this would ultimately drive AC sales WAY higher than just making new products, especially because Price is one of the ONLY complaints I hear about your products.

Note I do not mean to discredit anything you are doing, or to say that it is in any way bad or wrong, but price is the only reason I do not tend to shop AntsCanada. I am not in the business world, so IDK how hard it is to drop manufacturing costs, nor do I know any efforts you may be taking, but I am a consumer, and this is my opinion.

I think that AC is doing a great job and make extremely high quality products, and Mikey Bustos makes great videos, but I have to say AC's weakest point is their price. I understand that each nest has work to be done by hand, but I think that your products are high quality enough that instead of working on making new products, AC should alter their manufacturing process so that they can drop the price point for their existing products. I think I speak for most people with a small budget, I personally have 9 colonies, and It is simply impractical to purchase AC products for any or all of them, given that there is competitors like AntKit, AntsAustralia, ETC that make things that I can afford. I and many others simply do not have 190 dollars to drop on an all you need, or 150 for an Omni version. I think this would ultimately drive AC sales WAY higher than just making new products, especially because Price is one of the ONLY complaints I hear about your products.

Note I do not mean to discredit anything you are doing, or to say that it is in any way bad or wrong, but price is the only reason I do not tend to shop AntsCanada. I am not in the business world, so IDK how hard it is to drop manufacturing costs, nor do I know any efforts you may be taking, but I am a consumer, and this is my opinion.

Thanks for sharing an honest opinion. We realize that our prices are a sore spot with some ant keepers and have done what we could over the past couple of years to keep prices as low as we can. But yes, it is difficult to lower them more than we have with our current production methods. You will be pleased to know that we have been working to change our manufacturing processes and this in turn should result in lower costs to our faithful followers. Over the next 4-6 months we will be releasing newer versions of Hybrids and Outworld that should be more affordable.

Prices have always been the weak point of the AC products.
Regarding their customer base of most likely very young and inexperienced antkeepers that get their formicaria bought by parents with too much disposable income anyway it may not matter as much as you think it would, but it's still an issue.

The other issue are the RIDICULOUS shipping costs. At least CETA removed customs fees for products moving from Canada to Europe but the shipping costs are still terrible.

"We should respect all forms of consciousness. The body is just a vessel, a mere hull."

Prices have always been the weak point of the AC products.
Regarding their customer base of most likely very young and inexperienced antkeepers that get their formicaria bought by parents with too much disposable income anyway it may not matter as much as you think it would, but it's still an issue.

The other issue are the RIDICULOUS shipping costs. At least CETA removed customs fees for products moving from Canada to Europe but the shipping costs are still terrible.

Is there something anyone is aware of to address shipping cost/custom fee issues? We don't charge anything on top of what we are charged for shipping. This one seems to be out of our control.

The only possible solutions that I am aware of are to have distributors spread out across the globe or to use something like Amazon to fulfill orders. Both of these options of course come with additional costs, upfront costs and ongoing costs, so I don't know how much it would help.

Prices have always been the weak point of the AC products.
Regarding their customer base of most likely very young and inexperienced antkeepers that get their formicaria bought by parents with too much disposable income anyway it may not matter as much as you think it would, but it's still an issue.

The other issue are the RIDICULOUS shipping costs. At least CETA removed customs fees for products moving from Canada to Europe but the shipping costs are still terrible.

Is there something anyone is aware of to address shipping cost/custom fee issues? We don't charge anything on top of what we are charged for shipping. This one seems to be out of our control.

The only possible solutions that I am aware of are to have distributors spread out across the globe or to use something like Amazon to fulfill orders. Both of these options of course come with additional costs, upfront costs and ongoing costs, so I don't know how much it would help.

I was wondering why shipping was so high. The default cost is an additional 100$ on top of your already 100$ purchase. The cheapest one is around 40, but how do I know my package will arrive in one piece. AntsAustralia uses ytong & paints their nests for way cheaper than AC. + Shipping isn't crazy. So I am led to wonder, how are prices at AC so costly for 3D printed nests, when AA has cheaper prices for higher quality?

I was wondering why shipping was so high. The default cost is an additional 100$ on top of your already 100$ purchase. The cheapest one is around 40, but how do I know my package will arrive in one piece. AntsAustralia uses ytong & paints their nests for way cheaper than AC. + Shipping isn't crazy. So I am led to wonder, how are prices at AC so costly for 3D printed nests, when AA has cheaper prices for higher quality?

It looks like AntsAustralia uses the local Australia Post, which then transfers to other international partners when shipping internationally. This is the same thing we do at AntsCanada, except ours originate from the USA with US Post. Both systems work off of the weight of the package. If ytong nests are lighter than Hybrid or Omni nests, they will not cost as much to ship. I just went and ordered a comparable sized ytong nest (size 4) from the AntsAustralia web site. This is similar in size to the AntsCanada Hybrid in size and weight (I think). It costs $45 AUD ($35 USD) and shipping to me here in the USA was $42 AUD ($33 USD).

AntsAustralia $35 USD and shipping to USA is $33 USD -- Total $68 USD
AntsCanada Hybrid is $50 USD and shipping to Australia is $48 USD -- Total is $98 USD
(~35% difference)

It looks like there is a $15 dollar difference on the product and a $15 difference on the shipping. I don't know what AntsAustralia's material, manufacturing, and labor costs are for their ytong nests. I can only assume that they are about 35% less than ours, unless of course they are working for free and not expecting any profit from the sales of their products.

I don't know why the shipping is $15 higher. We just charge whatever we are charged.

I was wondering why shipping was so high. The default cost is an additional 100$ on top of your already 100$ purchase. The cheapest one is around 40, but how do I know my package will arrive in one piece. AntsAustralia uses ytong & paints their nests for way cheaper than AC. + Shipping isn't crazy. So I am led to wonder, how are prices at AC so costly for 3D printed nests, when AA has cheaper prices for higher quality?

AntsAustralia is using Ytong which is easier to work with. In Europe, where Ytong blocks can be bought for 5-10 bucks (they're used for housebuilding here), a lot of hobbyist use them for homemade formicaria.
However the AntsAustralia formicaria have their own set of issues and humidity is a massive one. The Size 1-3 Ytong nest dry out almost instantly and are impossible to keep moist unless you place them in a moat which is probably the reason why none of the Eurpoean ant shops that have been working with Ytong for decades are produces any formicaria that are even close to that small.
The minimum size for a Ytong nest is usually something around 60x20cm, everything below that just doesn't work.

"We should respect all forms of consciousness. The body is just a vessel, a mere hull."

I was wondering why shipping was so high. The default cost is an additional 100$ on top of your already 100$ purchase. The cheapest one is around 40, but how do I know my package will arrive in one piece. AntsAustralia uses ytong & paints their nests for way cheaper than AC. + Shipping isn't crazy. So I am led to wonder, how are prices at AC so costly for 3D printed nests, when AA has cheaper prices for higher quality?

AntsAustralia is using Ytong which is easier to work with. In Europe, where Ytong blocks can be bought for 5-10 bucks (they're used for housebuilding here), a lot of hobbyist use them for homemade formicaria.
However the AntsAustralia formicaria have their own set of issues and humidity is a massive one. The Size 1-3 Ytong nest dry out almost instantly and are impossible to keep moist unless you place them in a moat which is probably the reason why none of the Eurpoean ant shops that have been working with Ytong for decades are produces any formicaria that are even close to that small.
The minimum size for a Ytong nest is usually something around 60x20cm, everything below that just doesn't work.

I didn't realize Ytong nests had trouble with hydration/humidity (I've never used one). This is good to know and to consider when purchasing a formicarium as hydration is a major factor in having a successful ant keeping experience.

Honestly, all formicariums online are overpriced anyways. You can be creative, buy materials yourself and let your creativity flow for way less. There are many being sold on eBay, etc and the things that they're selling for $150 can be made for about $30 and day, with leftover materials.